The Backbone

lachlan naef

DIRECTOR / DESIGNER / CRAFTSMANA.K.A LOCKY

"Jack of all trades, master of a few."

Solid signs is, one guy. Me, Locky.The crafting of AWESOME signage, designing, advertising and business branding has been a 10 year knowledge and skill seeking experience which I hope continues.I come from a very small town. There wasn’t a lot to do so I chose to fill my time with music, art, building things, catching fish, riding bikes & other wild stuff.

The spark for signage, typography and design came from watching my mother do calligraphy on wedding invites as a child, watching my father work and grandfathers build strange contraptions and then there was some Nudging in the right direction from family to lead me to where I am nowSmall towns can be tough for young kids but I spent every spare minute drawing, creating and learning how to just build anything.Straight out of school I worked through various labouring trades, shearing sheds, had some stints in electronics, bicycle repairs, service stations and eventually finding that sign-craft job I was waiting for. I've worked my way through every facet of the Sign Industry over the past 10 years, taking knowledge from every craftsman inside and outside of the industry. My wide skillset gives me the benefit of being able to run every aspect of a sign business alone. I ever started a graphic design degree. Which I dropped out of as waiting the first 12 months while everyone else was learning what a computer was really sucked when your already well versed in the craft.

Sign-craft is an ever evolving industry. Having an appreciation for traditional signage and a keen eye on the new PRINT based era, I feel this has given myself a unique view on what I provide to my clients & a diverse outlook on signage possibilities. Gaining the broader skill-set to be adaptable to challenging design briefs and the knowledge & skills for when which medium use is appropriate. Having a broad skill-set is something I pride myself on and is often rare these days with the rise of the general “sign-maker” being just compitent in “pressing print” and getting paid. I’m here to make what is, “REAL” signs.

Mid 2014 alongside wife and growing family I felt the time had come and the appreciation of my craft was calling. That a resurrection of traditional skills would be needed. I Donned my cape and I leapt into business. Duh da na naaa!!!!